I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9187 

To amend section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934 to combat 

cyberstalking, intimate privacy violations, and digital forgeries, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 30, 2024 

Mr. AUCHINCLOSS (for himself and Mrs. HINSON) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To amend section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934 

to combat cyberstalking, intimate privacy violations, and 

digital forgeries, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Intimate Privacy Pro5 tection Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. CYBERSTALKING, INTIMATE PRIVACY VIOLATIONS, 

2 AND DIGITAL FORGERIES. 

3 (a) DUTY OF CARE.—Section 230(c)(1) of the Com4 munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230(c)(1)) is amend5 ed— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘No provider’’ and inserting the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

9 subparagraph (B), no provider’’; and 

10 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(B) CYBERSTALKING, INTIMATE PRIVACY

12 VIOLATIONS, AND DIGITAL FORGERIES.— 

13 ‘‘(i) DUTY OF CARE.—Subparagraph 

14 (A) only applies to a provider of an inter15 active computer service if such provider is 

16 implementing, with respect to the inter17 active computer service of the provider, a 

18 reasonable process for addressing 

19 cyberstalking, intimate privacy violations, 

20 and digital forgeries that includes, at a 

21 minimum, the following: 

22 ‘‘(I) A process to prevent, to the 

23 extent practicable, cyberstalking, inti24 mate privacy violations, and digital 

25 forgeries. 


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1 ‘‘(II) A clear and accessible proc2 ess to report cyberstalking, intimate 

3 privacy violations, and digital for4 geries. 

5 ‘‘(III) A process for investigating 

6 each report of cyberstalking, an inti7 mate privacy violation, or a digital 

8 forgery. 

9 ‘‘(IV) A process to remove (or 

10 otherwise make unavailable), within 

11 24 hours, information the provider 

12 knows, or has reason to know, is 

13 cyberstalking, an intimate privacy vio14 lation, or a digital forgery. 

15 ‘‘(V) Minimum data logging re16 quirements that— 

17 ‘‘(aa) preserve data nec18 essary for legal proceedings re19 lated to cyberstalking, an inti20 mate privacy violation, or a dig21 ital forgery; and 

22 ‘‘(bb) ensure that preserved 

23 data is not transferred or other24 wise used for a purpose other 

25 than a legal proceeding related to 


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1 cyberstalking, an intimate pri2 vacy violation, or a digital for3 gery. 

4 ‘‘(VI) A process to remove or 

5 block content that has been deter6 mined unlawful by a court. 

7 ‘‘(VII) Any other process or re8 quirement determined necessary by 

9 the Commission to address 

10 cyberstalking, intimate privacy viola11 tions, and digital forgeries. 

12 ‘‘(ii) DEFINITIONS.—In this subpara13 graph: 

14 ‘‘(I) CYBERSTALKING.—The term 

15 ‘cyberstalking’ means a course of con16 duct— 

17 ‘‘(aa) directed at a specific 

18 individual; and 

19 ‘‘(bb) that causes the indi20 vidual, or would cause a reason21 able individual, to suffer substan22 tial emotional distress or the fear 

23 of bodily harm. 


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1 ‘‘(II) DIGITAL FORGERY.—The 

2 term ‘digital forgery’ means digital 

3 audiovisual material— 

4 ‘‘(aa) created, manipulated, 

5 or altered to be virtually indistin6 guishable from an authentic 

7 record of the speech, conduct, or 

8 appearance of an individual de9 spite not being an authentic 

10 record of such speech, conduct, 

11 or appearance; and 

12 ‘‘(bb) that is reasonably like13 ly to cause harm. 

14 ‘‘(III) INTIMATE VISUAL DEPIC15 TION.—The term ‘intimate visual de16 piction’ has the meaning given that 

17 term in section 1309(a) of division W 

18 of the Consolidated Appropriations 

19 Act, 2022 (15 U.S.C. 6851(a)). 

20 ‘‘(IV) INTIMATE PRIVACY VIOLA21 TION.—The term ‘intimate privacy 

22 violation’ means the following: 

23 ‘‘(aa) An intimate visual de24 piction obtained or shared withVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:44 Aug 27, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9187.IH H9187

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1 out the consent of an individual 

2 portrayed in the depiction. 

3 ‘‘(bb) A digital forgery of an 

4 intimate visual depiction made or 

5 shared without the consent of an 

6 individual portrayed in the depic7 tion.’’. 

8 (b) INFORMATION CONTENT PROVIDER DEFINED.— 

9 Section 230(f)(3) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

10 U.S.C. 230(f)(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘creation or de11 velopment’’ and inserting ‘‘creation or development (in12 cluding through solicitation or encouragement)’’. 

13 (c) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after 

14 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Trade 

15 Commission, in consultation with the Federal Communica16 tions Commission, shall promulgate regulations under sec17 tion 553 of title 5, United States Code, to implement the 

18 amendments made by this Act. 

19 (d) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by this 

20 Act shall apply to information made available on an inter21 active computer service on or after the date of the enact22 ment of this Act. 

23 (e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—The amendments 

24 made by this Act may not be construed to infringe upon 


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1 any right protected under the First Amendment to the 

2 Constitution. 

Æ 


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